Kangas Family Reunion

As most of you know my Uncle Tim passed away unexpectedly last year. He was a wonderful man that left this world far to young, leaving behind his wife of many years, 3 children, and now two grandchildren. I wasn't as close with Uncle Tim as I would have liked to be (he lived in Florida), but my Dad always spoke so highly of him and I know he (as well as many others) will never get over his passing.

A few months later, I really got to thinking about family. I have a very large one (24 cousins on my Dad's side and my Dad is one of 9) but we are not close. We live up and down the East Coast for the most part, and some of my Dad's siblings are closer than others, and some do not get along. The sudden passing of Uncle Tim really got me thinking how nice it would be if we could be closer, or at least get together and celebrate our families.

Last September I started to put together our first ever reunion through Facebook and we celebrated with a group of about 45 people on Long Island this weekend.

My Uncle Ronny came over to me, took my hand, and said it was one of the best things I've ever done. That made me so happy but more than anything, I'm glad so many of us were interested and we were able to get together.

Facebook can be a real pain in the ass, but it does have it's redeeming qualities. Through Facebook, I was able to connect with two cousin's I had never met, Destiny and Dylan. Destiny and Dylan's Dad was my Dad's oldest brother, my Uncle Arthur. Uncle Arthur died when I was around 4 or 5, and Destiny and Dylan are just a little bit older than me. I was so excited to see everyone at the reunion, but I was also excited for Destiny and Dylan to get to meet so many cousin's that they did not know. I've since talked to Destiny and I know she enjoyed herself. My Uncle Ronny was talking with her and Dylan at one point and I know he shared some stories of their Dad that they may not have known.

All in all, the day was a success and I know we already plan on trying to make this a yearly thing.

My cousin Jason and his wife Miri. I hadn't seen Jason in over 20 years! He and Miri live in Tennessee.

My cousin Ron and his wife Melissa. Melissa and Ron were married last year so we saw them recently, and they live on Long Island. Their wedding was really nice and they honored both Uncle Arthur & Uncle Tim in the wedding program.

My cousin Lukas and cousin Donovan. I saw Lukas about 10 years ago (and he hasn't aged a day!) and hadn't seen my cousin Donovan in almost 20 years. I always remind Lukas that it was our dog that bit him but I think he was poking him with a stick.Lukas is the second youngest cousin, after my cousin Tim who couldn't make it (my Uncle Timmy's son). I told Donovan how I remember when he was a teenager he spray painted his name on a sidewalk curb in Center Moriches, haha. He was like "why did I do that?" Ahh..memories!

My Uncle Larry, Uncle Cliff, Uncle Ronny, Aunt Sandy, and Aunt Sharon. My Aunt Sandy is my Godmother and my Uncle Larry is my Aunt Sandy's husband. Aunt Sharon is the baby of the 9 siblings :)

My cousin Destiny. So awesome to have finally met her!

My cousin Dylan, Destiny's brother. Yay to have finally met him as well! He and his wife have a beautiful daughter Zoe who is just a few months younger than Nicholas.

Ashly and Destiny- they definitely look like family! :)

Here are all the cousin's that attended. We are pretty much in order from oldest to youngest but had to split in half so we could fit everyone in. Melissa is younger than me (on my left) and my brother Erik is actually the first born out of all of us!

So happy. So thankful. I love our "Kangi" Clan. :)